Waterlogged
by Fennec the Fox
Summary: It happened so suddenly. The island... the flooding... and now, we have to fix it. (AU- Inspired by a dream.)


**This is a bit of an experiment, I suppose. This was based on a dream I had, believe it or not. As such, I feel the need to label this as an AU due to not being accurate to the games. At least, not in it's original dream form. After waking up I took the basic concept and started making it into this.**

 **Things to keep in mind for the AU:**

 **and co. are not heroes at the beginning of this story. They still have their skills and abilities, but they've never been up against a villain or anything.**

 **and Amy's relationship is sort of role-reversed. Sonic's the one clearly crushing on Amy. He's just more quiet about it.**

 **, Tails, and Amy have not met Knuckles or Eggman before this point.**

 **And, yeah. That's about all you need to know for now.**

It happened so suddenly. No one could've predicted it would just… fall out of the sky. After all, the island had been floating up there for centuries- probably longer. No one knew why it fell. There was no warning. Some people assumed it was a sign the world was ending. To those living in Station Square, it certainly felt that way.

The city was flooded. When the floating island crashed into the sea, it displaced the water so badly, citizens had been stranded on rooftops in some areas. It wasn't so bad at higher elevation, however. The water was only six to eight inches deep as opposed to the several feet by the beach. Rescue teams had relocated as many people as they could to higher ground. Unfortunately, this resulted in crowded living situations for many.

It was a disaster, to put it bluntly.

And someone had to clean it up. Thus, the City Restoration Project was born.

-Early Morning - Station Square - Third Person-

"Sonic," a young, groggy voice called, "are you up yet?"

"Ngggghh…" a muffled groan escaped the hedgehog's throat. "I am now," Sonic spat bitterly.

"Sorry, but we gotta get going if we're going to make it to work on time"

"We just at work- like-" Sonic twisted his body to read the crooked clock on the wall, "five hours ago!"

A sigh, "I know it's tough Sonic, but we have to help however we can. The people need us!"

Sonic rubbed his face, collecting himself. "You're right, Tails. As always," Sonic let out a bitter chuckle. "I don't know why I'm acting this way."

The fox shrugged, "You've been sleep deprived. We all have."

"That's no excuse to act this way, though," Sonic countered, shaking his head. He stood up, throwing on his work vest, gloves, and boots.

Tails tilted his head, thinking. "Maybe not, but it's an explanation at least." He shook his head, "Anyway, we better get going. Are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Then let's get going! I don't wanna get chewed out by the boss for being late again..."

"I cannot believe she assigned us to the beach-side area of the city," Sonic groaned as he waded through the streets.

"Well, maybe if we'd gotten in EARLY, we wouldn't have been assigned to salvaging. Again," Tails retorted, clearly tired of listening to Sonic's never-ending whining.

"But do we have to salvage for things in the most destroyed section of the city?! It's pure rubble over there! I doubt there's anything useful," Sonic exclaimed.

Sonic, though not entirely accurate in his statement, was right about one thing. The lowest part of the city- the side closest to the ocean- had suffered the greatest damages. Not only did it suffer from the most severe flooding, it also got hit by the brunt of the tremors caused by the island's impact. The force didn't level the whole section of the city, but the buildings had certainly seen better days. The CRP had been avoiding the area for several days due to the lack of stability in the buildings.

Some members STILL thought it was too dangerous.

"They just want to be thorough. Besides, this way you'll get to see your favorite person!" Tails chimed, flashing a mischievous smile at Sonic.

Sonic huffed, but did his best to not let himself react further. That's what Tails wanted. Sonic knew EXACTLY what the fox was getting at and, frankly, the joke had gotten old. It was old the first time he made it.

"You just LOVE to work that into our conversations, don't you?" Sonic continued avoiding eye contact with Tails as they walked.

"Once a day," Tails joked, seeming pleased with himself.

Sonic and Tails arrived to the boat they and the rest of their team were to take out to the southern end of the city. As they approached, the two saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Amy!" Tails waved enthusiastically at a pink hedgehog on the boat.

Amy looked up and beamed at the two, waving back. "Hi guys! You two ready for today?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Tails responded, as he boarded with Sonic following. He nudged Sonic slightly, prompting the hedgehog to say something.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess…" Sonic responded in a disinterested tone. Whether he was trying to play it cool, or truly hadn't been paying attention was unclear to Tails.

Amy frowned, looking at Sonic in concern. "Are you feeling alright, Sonic?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at the touch.

"YUP," his voice came out somewhat strained.

"Are you sure?" Amy withdrew her hand and crossed her arms in front of her. She cast Sonic a skeptical gaze.

"I, uh…" Sonic's eyes darted to the side, thinking of a response. Upon thinking of one, he tried to make eye contact with her again, but could only bring himself to look past her. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Have a headache. You know. That sort of thing. Eh heh…" Sonic chuckled awkwardly. It wasn't really a lie, the lack of sleep was giving him headaches, but it wasn't the thing making it hard for Sonic to speak.

Amy's face softened, buying the excuse. "Oh, Sonic, I'm sorry. I forgot you guys usually work longer than us divers do…"

"Heh. Well, to be fair you guy do all the hard stuff. In… the water…" an expression of discomfort washed over Sonic at the thought of being underwater. His expression snapped to one of shock as the boat lurched, finally moving out from the CRP docking area and towards their assignment for the day.

"Geez, Jacque, give us a warning next time…" Sonic mumbled sourly towards the shrew steering the boat. She- the shrew- did not hear him, however.

Seeing Amy give Sonic a disapproving glare for his comment, Tails thought it best to change the subject. "So, Amy, what do you think we'll find out there today?"

"Something useful, I hope," Amy responded, crossing her arms.

Sonic shook his head doubtfully, "I find it hard to believe anything, in or above the water, is worth dragging back."

"You never know, Sonic," Tails stated.

"I do wonder though, is there something in particular they want to find? Maybe something important was lost in the flood," Amy mused.

"Like what?" the boys asked in unison.

"Important documents, maybe?"

"They never told us to look out for those, though," Sonic replied.

"They'd probably be worthless anyway, even if they were in a safe, water would've seeped through," Tails noted.

"Well-"

"WELL, you dewdroppers better get to work if y'all wanna get any sleep tonight!" Jacque called from the front of the boat. "All the rest of the crew are doin' their thing already." The shrew made a waving motion with her hands, as if shooing them. "Go on! Get a wiggle on!"

The three shot questioning glances at Jacque for her word choices, but decided it best not to question their ride back to base. Amy suited up in her diving gear while Sonic and Tails carefully stepped off the boat into a destroyed building Jacque docked them by.

The shrew frowned, looking up at the building as Sonic and Tails entered through a hole in the wall. "I know you two are joined at the hip anyway an' all, but I feel I oughtta mention it'd be a swell idea to stick together 'n' stay by the exit. I did my darnedest to pick out a sound building but…"

"We'll be careful, Jacque, thanks," Sonic interjected- his words seemingly dismissive, but his tone sincere.

Jacque nodded and tapped a watch-like device. "Call if somethin' happens."

Sonic nodded in response. He followed Tails into the building, treading as lightly as possible lest the floor gave out. Looking around, he saw the remnants of various pieces of furniture strewn about. Some of his cohorts were already investigating them, seeing if any of it was good.

"Do you think we'd be able to save this couch?"

"I really don't think that's a good use of boat space."

"Aw, come on, man, we could use a couch!"

"We have, like, two feet of living space, dude."

Sonic tuned out of the conversation after that. Tails wasn't heeding Jacque's advice very well, as he was going deeper into the building than any other CRP employees. So deep, in fact, Tails had to use his communicator as a light source.

It was still a mess deeper inside the building, but it was more intact than it had been. Or at least, more intact than Sonic expected it to be. Though perhaps it would be best not to test the structural integrity further. The whole room seemed to be moaning in agony. Sonic grimaced at the sound and began to panic slightly seeing Tails continue on as if he hadn't heard it.

"H-hey!" Sonic called, voice taut. "Shouldn't we stay closer to the others?"

"It's fine. As long as you don't stomp around the place, the floor should hold us up no problem." Tails turned to Sonic, smirking slightly, "And here I thought YOU were supposed to be the adventurous one."

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't exactly facing the threat of drowning every day of my life back then," Sonic replied sarcastically.

"Mmm, yeah, I guess not," Tails' response was somewhat distant, as if he only half heard what Sonic was saying. He shined the light from his communicator around the room searching for anything useful. Nothing stood out to him.

Tails continued to explore the depths building with Sonic hesitantly following behind. Sonic hated everything about this situation. Not only was the city in shambles and countless lives and homes were lost, but it'd morphed his personality into something else entirely. He felt like a helpless coward- it was like he was a different person now…

With a heavy sigh, Sonic pushed the thoughts aside and did his best to focus on his job.

-Late Afternoon - Station Square: Beachside - Third Person-

"Well, that was pretty much a bust, as I expected," Sonic remarked as he and Tails walked down the hall towards the boat.

"To you, maybe, but I think some of these parts could still be useful!" Tails beamed excitedly, turning over a part in his hands. He had managed to salvage them from various appliances throughout the building- though Sonic didn't know why Tails didn't just bring the whole appliance.

Sonic shrugged. "As long as you're happy, Tails, that's all tha- what the?" Sonic stopped in his tracks as he saw all their coworkers huddled together on the boat- looking at something.

The two shared a look before continuing towards the boat. As they drew closer, the murmurs of the group grew louder.

"It's so pretty…"

"What is it?"

"A diamond, maybe?"

"Whatever it is, it's HUGE."

"Where'd ya find it?"

"It was just in a pile of rubble. Underwater."

Sonic's ears perked up hearing the last voice. So, Amy found a huge diamond-like thing in the water, huh? Jacque turned to Sonic and Tails.

"Ah! There ya are! I was startin' to think you two had drowned!" The rest of the crew turned to them upon hearing Jacque begin her lecture. "Didn't I tell ya ta stay close?! We've lost enough good people to the fishes, I don't need you two joining them."

Tails looked down, feeling especially guilty. Sonic decided to step in. "Well, to be fair, all the mostly good stuff was deep inside the building," he gestured to his satchel, which was now full of the parts Tails salvaged.

Jacque huffed in annoyance, but couldn't argue with the results. "Fine, but don't come cryin' to me when the building caves on ya." The shrew sauntered to her seat. She jabbed her thumb behind her, "Get in, we're done for today."

Sonic and Tails hopped in the boat and took their seats from that morning. It was at that moment Sonic decided to hazard a glance in Amy's direction. Her quills were still dripping wet from diving and she was clutching something close to her chest. Sonic cocked his head to the side, trying to get a better look at the object.

"What's that?" Sonic asked. His memory echoed the conversation he and Tails walked in on as they returned from the building. "A diamond?"

Amy snapped her attention towards Sonic, as if coming out of a trance. "O-oh, yeah. Something like that." She extended her hand to him so he could see it better. It was cut like a diamond and was white like one, but there was something off about it.

"Is… is it glowing?"

"Mmm," Amy hummed in confirmation, holding it close again. "It's warm, too…"

Sonic stared at Amy, waiting to see if she would say anything else about the matter. She said nothing, however. In fact, she seemed to have fallen asleep. He continued to gaze at her regardless, but soon had to force himself to look away. He really didn't need to give Tails any more reason to tease him about his crush on the girl.

The boat soon arrived at the CRP headquarters. Everyone unloaded the things they'd found and handed them off to the warehouse workers. Even Amy- with some hesitation- handed off the gem she'd found. She would soon grow to regret that decision.

The crew finished up the last of their work and headed to their homes. Preparing to face another day of work tomorrow.

 **Aaaand that's all for now. Don't know when or if I'll continue. I guess it depends on if people want to read more of this.**

 **I should probably mention, I've never really been the best at writing romance. I don't really know how to convey attraction without resorting to cliches or just blatantly stating it. So while this is intended to have a bit of a romantic side to it, I may not do it too great in the end. Like I said, this was inspired by a dream I had, so don't expect everything to make sense or everyone to be in character.**

 **Oh, yeah, Jacque [JACK]. I, uh… have no idea how to write her voice. She's supposed to lazily slur her words together and use old lingo, but I don't know a lot of old terms for her to use so she just sounds… weird. Oh, and she's also an FC. You may or may not see more of those. I haven't decided yet.**

 **Anyway, tell me what you think. I feel like there's potential here, but it's hard to continue if no one's interested.**


End file.
